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Dodgers Keep Ohtani in Lineup for Game 3 After Bench Talks

Shohei Ohtani is batting .150 in the playoffs, and Los Angeles weighed sitting him. Manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday the four-time MVP starts Game 3.

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Dodgers Keep Ohtani in Lineup for Game 3 After Bench Talks
Photo: Mogami Kariya, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shohei_Ohtani_(52251772408).jpg)

Key points

  • Dave Roberts ended the debate on Tuesday.
  • Roberts said Ohtani will bat somewhere between second and sixth in the order against the Milwaukee Brewers.
  • Ohtani is 3 for 20 in the postseason, a .150 average, with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts.

Dave Roberts ended the debate on Tuesday. Shohei Ohtani will start Game 3 of the National League Championship Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, one day after the club openly weighed benching its biggest star.

Roberts said Ohtani will bat somewhere between second and sixth in the order against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers trail the best-of-seven series 2-0 after losing twice in Milwaukee.

A .150 average and a hard conversation

Ohtani is 3 for 20 in the postseason, a .150 average, with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts. He went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in the Game 2 loss on Monday. He has not hit a home run since August 18, a span of 24 games.

He is also not fully healthy. Ohtani has nursed right biceps and left knee problems since at least June, and continued biceps soreness put him on the injured list late in the regular season, according to Reuters.

After Game 2, Roberts said he would sit down with Ohtani on Tuesday to figure out what was best for the player and for the team. Multiple outlets reported the Dodgers were prepared to sit him if they decided he was not healthy enough to help, with top prospect Josue De Paula the likely replacement at designated hitter.

Ohtani talked his way in

The conversation went Ohtani's way. "He was adamant that he can help us, well enough to help us win a baseball game," Roberts told reporters. "That's all I needed to hear."

The benefit of the doubt has a basis. Ohtani hit .275 with an .889 OPS, 30 home runs and 81 RBIs this season, and he owns four MVP awards. But October has been cold, and Los Angeles is running out of room. Game 3 is Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. A 3-0 hole would leave the Dodgers one loss from elimination.

Teammate Mookie Betts backed Ohtani publicly while the rumors ran, telling reporters the Dodgers need their star in the lineup. On Wednesday, they get him. What they need now is the version of Ohtani who carried them all summer.

Sources